Alfred Dampier


Alfred Dampier was an English-born actor-manager
and playwright, active in Australia.
Dampier was born in Horsham, Sussex, England, the son of John Dampier, a builder, and his wife Mary, née Daly. Dampier had a stage career in Manchester before moving to Melbourne, Australia in 1873, under contract to the Harwood syndicate, consisting of H. R. Harwood, George Coppin, Richard Stuart, and John Hennings, managers of Melbourne's Theatre Royal.
His first role was as Mephistopheles in his own adaptation of Goethe's Faust, followed by leading roles in Shakespearean dramas. After three years he undertook his own management and toured major towns in Australia and New Zealand, followed by America and England.
On his return to Australia, Dampier formed his own company, often producing plays with an Australian theme. He staged five plays by F. R. C. Hopkins between 1876 and 1882, and adapted For the Term of His Natural Life, Robbery Under Arms, and The Miner's Right.
The two roles with which Dampier was most associated were Jean Valjean in Valjean, an adaptation of Les Misérables, and Captain Starlight in Robbery Under Arms.
Dampier died in Paddington, Sydney on 24 May 1908.

Family

Dampier was survived by his wife, one son and two daughters. His daughter Lily Dampier was a noted actor in her own right, and married actor and director Alfred Rolfe, who adapted several of Dampier's plays to the screen.
Lily Dampier died in 1915. Dampier's wife died shortly afterwards from a stroke while touring America with her other daughter Rose and son Fred. Rose Dampier died while on tour in Nebraska in 1919.
Dampier's son Fred was also an actor although he was never as successful as his father, sisters or brother in law. Fred had a secret marriage to another actor, Vera in 1905.

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